


If I fall (Will you catch me?)

by Claire_041106



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Mike Wheeler, Cute Ending, Dreams and Nightmares, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gay Will Byers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Mike Wheeler, The Upside Down, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Will Byers Loves Mike Wheeler, Will Byers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:41:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claire_041106/pseuds/Claire_041106
Summary: When Will responded it was so soft, Mike strained to hear from beside him.“You died.”Mike stilled and his grip on Will tightened unconsciously.“You died,” Will repeated slightly louder, “and Mom. I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything.” His breath caught at the end of his sentence.Mike struggled to speak, but he managed a whisper.“I’m not going anywhere.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Will has a nightmare that just keeps getting worse, but luckily Mike is only one walkie talkie call away. FLUFF!
Relationships: Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	If I fall (Will you catch me?)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this fluffy byler fic! Ive been working (procrastinating) on this for almost a year. Im praying its not horrible. Thought now would be a good time to post since season 4 looms on the horizon and we desperately need more content!!!! ENJOY!

The air was cold. Too cold. 

Will’s body was a freezer as he was led subconsciously through the dark. The heavy air fell thick around his limbs, the weight like lead, and he could see his breath as it escaped into the eerie silence 

A call of his name tugged him forwards, through the cold, through the ashy spores that claimed the air, and the tangled ground. He could tell the voice was a womans. It was familiar, but Will’s mind was fuzzy, and he struggled to focus on it. 

Her voice grew louder as he approached a small clearing in the vines and slimy substance that seemed to be everywhere, and alive. Will’s feet stopped in their motions as he came across the source of the voice.

Joyce.

His mother was lying amongst the mess of thick roots and goo. Her limbs were wrapped in the weighted tendrils and she looked ragged and sleep deprived. Her eyes were open, but glassed over and dark. Her cheeks were sunken in, and the brightness that always seemed to surround her had faded into a painful dullness. 

Will’s face remained passive, but his mind was suddenly all too aware. He wanted to scream, but he was trapped in his own head. The coldness seeped through his veins as his mother began fading. Sinking into the vines, and disappearing into the unknown.

Will knew there were tears in his eyes, but he was still unable to move. 

Suddenly, he was jerked to the right, where another body lay in the distance. This one didn’t call his name. 

Again, to his distaste, his feet pulled him towards the second person. 

Somewhere in Will’s subconscious, he knew this would be worse. 

His instinct had proven to be right. 

Mike Wheeler lay unmoving amongst clusters of tendrils. 

Will’s heart almost stopped.

His hair, usually curly and full of life, lay flat and matted against his forehead, slick with sweat. His eyes were glassy and lifeless, so unlike the gorgeous dark brown eyes Will was used to. 

In this moment, he longed for those eyes, for that childish gleam, the way they turned golden in the sun, and how when Mike laughed, they seemed to shine brighter than the sun. Will didn’t know these eyes. These eyes who held no emotion, these eyes who looked faded and dead. Those weren’t Mike's eyes. Those weren’t the eyes Will Byers fell in love with. 

He choked back a sob as well as his vacant body would allow, well aware of how shallow his breathing had become. 

Mike’s thin, frail body began sinking through the coils and ropes, showing no resistance as he was strangled into the ground by organisms unknown. 

Will tried to surge forward, his mind’s arms outstretched, ready to catch him, but his body never moved an inch. He felt hollow, as if his soul sank with Mike. 

His own lifeless form stood blank, corpse empty, but his mind was full, racing, crying, begging for anything that could free him from himself. He couldn’t do anything. He couldn't- he-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He shot upright in his bed, shaking violently. 

He needed to cry but the tears didn’t come.

He couldn’t get the image of Mike’s battered body out of his mind. His stomach turned as he recalled the deadness in his eyes… he never wanted to see those lifeless eyes again.

Will decided he needed to see Mike, it was worth a try anyways. 

His shaking hands were barely able to grasp at the walkie talkie on his nightstand as he began fiddling with knobs. The soft sound of static filled Will’s bedroom, and he prayed his mother wouldn’t hear. The thought of his mother made him shake even harder as his breathing became shallow. He pressed the walkie talkie to his ear. 

“Mike? Mike? Please pick up..” he whisper-yelled into the talkie. 

The silence was deafening as Will anxiously awaited a response. He doubted himself when he read the clock- 2:47 am. 

A quiet crackle resounded as the walkie talkie connected. 

“Will? What’s wrong? Are you alright? Will, this is Mike, over.” Will could have cried in relief, hearing Mike’s groggy, sleep-ridden voice.

“Mike, I-I need-” He stumbled as he shook, “can you come over?” his lip began to tremble, and he cursed himself for crying. Why now. 

“God Will, uh, course. Shit… Uh- give me like.. Ten minutes, I’ll be there. Stay safe.” Will heard the rustling of his bedsheets as he flung them away, and heard Mike’s swear as he tripped when he spoke, most likely stumbling on his shoes.  
-  
He stayed true to his word. Within 10 minutes, Will heard a faint tapping on his window. He snapped out of his thought-driven trance, and stood to unlock it. 

“Hey.” Mike smiled. Will could’ve melted on the spot under that gaze, those eyes. This was real. 

"Hey," Will whispered back, but his strained voice betrayed him. "you can come in."

Mike crawled through the window frame, and led Will back to his bed in silence. Will tried to contain his shaking, but Mike’s hands were wrapped around his shoulders, and his chest was pressed against his back, and it was just so real. 

Will shivered as Mike retracted his arms to straighten the bedsheets and fluff a pillow with over dramatic chivalry, eliciting a giggle from the smaller boy. He patted the bed lightly, and bowed with a flourish. 

“After you, your majesty” He exclaimed, lightheartedly, like a kingsman announcing his royal highness.  
Will tried to stifle a laugh into the back of his hand as he slid carefully into his bed. He huffed as Mike half jumped onto the mattress, causing the springs to groan in protest.  
Once he had settled under the covers, Mike slung his arm over Will’s torso, and sighed heavily. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Mike whispered into the calming silence. He felt Will tense beneath his arm. 

“Uh.. you don’t have to.. if you're not comfortable with it, but just know… if you want to talk I’ll listen.” He added. 

They fell into silence. Mike could almost hear the gears turning in Will’s head and he almost regretted asking.

Almost.

When Will responded it was so soft, Mike strained to hear from beside him.  
“You died.”

Mike stilled and his grip on Will tightened unconsciously. 

“You died,” Will repeated slightly louder, “and Mom. I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything.” His breath caught at the end of his sentence.

Mike struggled to speak, but he managed a whisper.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Will turned under Mike’s arm so he was facing him properly.

“I know,” his voice sounded confused, his brow furrowing, “it was just a dream…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mike repeated, “I promise.”

Will’s eyes became glassy, and Mike thought he might have been able to count the stars in his stare if he hadn’t been preoccupied. 

‘Will?” Mike whispered when a stray tear slipped down over his nose.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Mike.”

That certainly wasn’t what Mike had been expecting to hear

“What-“ he was cut off.

“You can’t say you’ll never leave Mike. That’s not how it works. Not anymore…”

Mike knew he was referring to the Upside Down incidents, but he didn’t quite know how to react to the statement. He felt hurt knowing that Will thought Mike could ever leave him.

“Will… I know things are different now, and they’ll never be the same again, but you have to trust me Will,” He began. Will made a protesting noise.

‘There’s no one I trust more than you Mike, you know that-“

“I know, just let me finish.” Will was silent. 

“From the moment we met, that day on the playground, I vowed to stay by your side no matter what. Will, for you to think I would ever leave you… makes me think I haven’t done the best job of being your friend. Whether it’s true or not, I need you to know and understand that it doesn’t matter if your dream was ‘just a dream’. I am right here, and I will always be right here. Everything you’ve- we’ve gone through, it’s only made us stronger, and you’ve always been the strongest person I know.” Mike paused to blink back threatening tears.

“I love you Will. More than you know, and I could never live with myself knowing that you had a doubt in your mind that I could leave. Or die-“ He added with a chuckle.

“I’m here. With you, no matter what. Forever.”

Will was stunned. Mike loved him. Mike said he loved him. He could feel the heat in his face, and his proximity to Mr. “I love you” wasn’t helping. 

Trying not to make assumptions, Will decided to be bold.

“You love me?”

Million dollar question wasn’t it?

“You have no idea…” Mike whispered. 

In fact, Will thought he did know. He hoped he knew. It wasn’t as if he’d been head over heels for Mike Wheeler since he was old enough to know what love was. Old enough to be taught that loving another boy would get him in trouble. 

To put it lightly, Lonnie hadn’t been the best thing to happen in Will’s life. 

The feelings he had been repressing for so long began to stir and bubble up, and before he knew it, he opened his mouth to speak as a tear fell quickly across the bridge of his nose.

“I love you too. So much. You have no idea.”

Apparently, Mike did know. He knew so much. 

The grin on his face could outshine the sun, Will thought.

“Uh, good! I mean, I’m glad! Ha… yeah!” Mike nervously fumbled.

“Yeah…” Will trailed off. “So what do we do now? We can’t be together, can we?” 

“Well… why not? I mean it’s becoming more… okay? Ya know, to be gay? That rhymed. But hey! Look at Freddie Mercury! He’s gay and people are… mostly okay with it. Prince too, and David Bowie? There's no way he only likes girls… If they can do it why can’t we?” Will laughed half humorlessly once Mike’s rambling had ceased. 

“Mike… we’re not famous rock stars, people won’t see us in that way…” 

“No, but we’re Will and Mike aren't we? Expert D&D players, slayers of the supernatural, best friends for life? Besides, who really cares what people think? They’re just jealous they can’t be as happy as we are.” 

Will cursed internally when the tears returned full force. He didn’t expect Mike to be so accepting of him, let alone admit that he loved him back. The night had proven to be eventful beyond what Will was expecting.

“I guess so… thanks Mike.” It was all he could manage.

“No problem Will.” Mike too, had tears in his eyes.

The boys embraced, held each other close, and exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Sleepiness hung in the air like a weighted blanket, and with a sigh of “I love you”, They drifted into a peaceful slumber. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Mike and Will woke to the sound of a record and the smell of bacon and eggs. Mike groaned and stretched, only to realize he was trapped by small but sturdy arms. The two were pressed tightly against each other, Will’s head on Mike’s chest, and the steady beat of his heart keeping him asleep. 

Mike nudged his boyfriend (could he call him that now? Is that what they were?) and Will sleepily yawned. “Five more minutes.” He said.

Mike wished they had five more minutes, but it was Wednesday morning, and Joyce would soon come to wake Will herself. Mike assumed Will would be wanting to see her anyways, so he shook him again.

“Get up, sleepy head. By the smell of it, your mom made breakfast, and even though she probably doesn’t know i’m here, I definitely don’t wanna miss out!”

Will laughed and rolled out of Mike’s arms, and suddenly Mike wished he hadn’t said anything. 

“Fine, but only because Dustin and Lucas are gonna have a fit if we don’t show at school. Now hurry up before I eat all of the bacon!”

Mike didn’t need to be told twice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As it turns out, Joyce did know of Mike’s arrival in her house. She understood immediately when Will wrapped himself around her tight enough to hurt, and Mike gave a sympathetic smirk. 

After an all too long conversation (in Mike’s opinion) about the workings of romantic relationships, Joyce informed the boys that she “didn’t care who they dated, as long as she wasn’t late for work today”. They all decided that moment was a good enough one to end the morning on, and the boys wished Joyce a pleasant day at work. 

Will and Mike hopped on their bikes, ready to head to school, when Will suddenly turned to Mike. He wore an expression Mike didn’t recognize and asked a question with infinite answers.

“What do we do now?”

Mike, who had spent most of his life at Will’s side, fought interdimensional monsters for him, and confessed his love first, wasn’t sure what to say.

After gaining his bearings, he tried, “About us? I mean, nothing has to change really… not for anyone else. We can still be us? You know I love you. That's enough for me!”

Will smiled, his cheeks adorably pink, and said “I’d like that. I love you too.” 

And with that, the day was ordinary. They met up with their friends at school, attended their classes, and returned to the Wheeler’s house for D&D, but to Mike and Will, this day was nothing short of extraordinary.

Of course the future loomed over their heads, how would their friends react to their confessions, how would Hawkins react, what would happen next?

But the future could wait. For today, they had each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Comments, Kudos, and requests are welcome :)))


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